A former New Orleans police officer who committed perjury by lying about what happened after he shot and killed a man in the days after Hurricane Katrina was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to serve 20 months in prison. Ronald Mitchell, 35, was convicted by a jury in December of obstruction of justice and of lying years earlier in a civil deposition about the death of 45-year-old Danny Brumfield.

Mitchell fatally shot Brumfield on the night of Sept. 2, 2005, in front of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The federal criminal charges were not linked to his actions in the shooting; rather, the conviction centered on the lie he told about getting out of his police cruiser and checking Brumfield's pulse after shooting him.

Mitchell's partner, Ray Jones, was also charged in the case. He was acquitted of similar charges.

In court Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance made clear that she was not sentencing Mitchell for the shooting itself, but for lying about aspects of it. She called his conduct "destructive to the justice system," adding that the community cannot have faith in the system "if the fact-finding process is tainted."

Asked just prior to the sentencing whether he had any comments to make, Mitchell told the judge: "I'm an innocent man about to go to prison. That's about it."

Mitchell is scheduled to report to federal prison May 11. Mitchell's attorney, Kerry Cuccia, said he intends to appeal the conviction.

Brumfield's mother, Deborah Brumfield, also addressed the court Wednesday. She told Mitchell that the family has "waited a long time for this time to come." She said she hopes he remembers how he lied, and she gave thanks to the "justice system."

Mitchell, who joined the NOPD in 2003, was fired last week for violating the department's truthfulness policy. His partner, Jones, returned to active duty after his acquittal and now works in the NOPD's 4th District, according to police spokeswoman Remi Braden. Jones has been cleared by the NOPD of wrongdoing in the incident.

They acquitted him of lying about the circumstances that led to the shooting, but convicted him of lying in the deposition when he said he got out of the cruiser and checked Brumfield's pulse after the man collapsed on the ground.

The lie came in a deposition tied to a federal lawsuit filed by Brumfield's widow. The family settled that lawsuit with the city of New Orleans for $400,000.

The U.S. Department of Justice probe into the Brumfield shooting followed a series of investigative reports in late 2009 by The Times-Picayune, PBS "Frontline" and ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom. The articles found the department conducted cursory investigations of several post-Katrina police shootings, relying largely on the statements made by the officers involved, failing to talk to civilian witnesses and neglecting to collect physical evidence.

At trial, witnesses didn't agree about what prompted Brumfield to run out into the street that night in an effort to stop the police cruiser Mitchell and Jones were in.

Family members said Brumfield tried to stop a police car driving by the Convention Center to get help for the throngs of people who spent days outside the facility in the days after Katrina. Police said Brumfield jumped on the hood of the car, driven by Jones, and lunged at Mitchell with a shiny object.

Mitchell fired a fatal blast from his personal shotgun.

Conflicting accounts

Mitchell said in his deposition that Jones stopped the car. Mitchell claimed he got out and checked the man's neck for a pulse. Jones was less specific than Mitchell in his statements, saying he wasn't sure whether Mitchell actually made it to the slain man.

Mitchell and Jones both said later that they heard gunshots after they left the car. Allegedly in fear of a crowd uprising, the two officers drove away.

The NOPD's investigation deemed the officers' actions were justified. Among several missteps, detectives never collected evidence, including the scissors Brumfield purportedly swung at officers.

The lead detective, DeCynda Barnes, wrote in a report that Brumfield was shot in the left shoulder. Brumfield's autopsy, which Barnes admitted she didn't consult, revealed that he was actually shot in the back.

According to court filings by federal prosecutors, the Orleans Parish district attorney's office tried to follow up on Barnes' investigation. State prosecutors sent Barnes a list of follow-up questions and asked that she reinterview Mitchell.

After consulting her supervisor, Sgt. Gerard Dugue, Barnes appears to have refused, claiming that all of the answers were contained in her report, according to federal court filings.

Details about the NOPD investigation were barred from the trial.

Dugue is set to be tried next month on charges that he participated in the cover-up of the Danziger Bridge shootings.